Judge turns down appeal filed by lawyers for martial arts champion

The Moscow Zamoskvoretsky district court has turned down an appeal filed by lawyers for the 26- year-old martial arts fighter

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MOSCOW, July 17 (Itar-Tass) —— The Moscow Zamoskvoretsky district court has turned down an appeal filed by lawyers for the 26- year-old martial arts fighter, Rasul Mirzayev, who asked to return a criminal case, opened against the defendant, to the Prosecutor's office, lawyer Oksana Mikhalkina told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

Rasul Mirzayev was put on trial on charges of murdering the 19- year-old student Ivan Agaphonov on August 15, 2011.

The court continues preliminary hearings into the case.

Mirzayev's lawyers claimed that an attempt to qualify the criminal charge brought against Mirzayev into a more grave crime was made when Mirzayev's lawyers were asking the court to return the case to the Prosecutor's. "In their opinion, that was illegitimate," Mikhalkina said.

"The judge, Andrei Fedin, refused to satisfy Mirzayev's defense appeal who asked the court to return the case to the Prosecutor's office," Mikhalkina said.

Rasul Mirzayev, Russia's and world champion in martial arts fighting, was charged for causing intentional harm to his victim's health which entailed his death. Mirzayev if convicted faces a prison term of up to 15 years.

According to the investigation, Mirzayev, who has a sports degree in wrestling, used his professional sports skills he gained as a result of sports training in a fight against the 19- year-old student Ivan Agaphonov and deliberately dealt an accentuated blow to the victim, striking him in the face. The victim fell, his head badly hitting a hard asphalt surface. He was rushed to a hospital where he fell into a coma and three days later died.

Several forensic examinations proved that the victim's death was a result of a severe injury the victim received when he fell onto the asphalt surface.